


Haven't You People Ever Heard Of Closing The Goddamn Door?

by Escanor



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Implied Autistic Kozume Kenma, Implied Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, M/M, Multi, One Shot, Rare Pairings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-14
Updated: 2016-11-14
Packaged: 2018-08-30 21:36:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8550007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Escanor/pseuds/Escanor
Summary: After an incident at Kuroo's house, Kenma enlists the help of an unexpected friend to relieve his panic.





	

Kozume Kenma was not in a good place. His small body was curled tight, rocking back and forth beneath the blanket, waves of tears shaking him with tremendous force. Holding himself tightly, painfully, he found the charm he clutched in his right hand was not enough to soothe him, to ease the ugly sounds of his crying. The thought of picking up a video game to distract himself seemed impossible. He couldn't do anything. He was useless and shameful and nothing but a child. Shaking his head, he tried to get a grip on himself, reaching for his phone. He knew he shouldn't deal with this kind of pain alone, he had to get it out, so he bit his lip and hesitantly texted the only person he knew could support him in this kind of situation. The only person who could be there and understand what was wrong without any need for words. The only person that wouldn't overwhelm him in this state. 

His body shook with relief and fresh tears as Oikawa Tooru replied "I'll be there in five". 

\- 

It hadn't been too bad a day, for the most part. They'd had to work in groups in maths, which had irritated Kenma no end, his classmates just didn't understand that he worked better alone. How often he could solve the exact same problem by himself was completely irrelevant, the pressure that interacting with these people put on him effectively nullified his brain, and made him look like a major asshole who refused to help the others. Which only made everything he struggled with worse. But like every other day, the classes eventually came to an end and he made his way home with Kuroo. It was Friday, and he had planned to stay over at Kuroo's house and watch some movies together. Unfortunately, things didn't go exactly to plan. 

Kuroo had been listing off movie options to choose from while Kenma made tea and took the mochi ice cream out of the freezer to soften. As usual, Kenma didn't really care what they watched, any movie would do with Kuroo. He wasn't really into films, but Kuroo's commentary made anything worth watching. He shrugged his replies, knowing that he would just choose whatever Bokuto had recommended him that week, no matter how awful the synopsis. He handed Kuroo his tea, his friend gladly accepting and casually walking backwards towards the doorway, still staring at his phone. And that was when all hell broke loose. 

Kuroo is a pretty chill guy. Unfortunately, even the most laid back of people can snap in the heat of the moment, especially when that moment is accompanied by pain or shock. And Kuroo experienced quite a lot of both. 

Kuroo crashed backwards into the open freezer door, both boys wholly unaware that it had been left ajar. His boiling hot tea splashed and poured over his hand as they opened reflexively, dropping both the cup and his phone on the ground. With a cry of pain he stumbled and fell into the burning puddle on the floor, hitting his head on the way down, yelling "YOU DIDN'T THINK TO CLOSE THE FUCKING DOOR?" 

Kuroo got to his feet, slamming the freezer door shut and making Kenma flinch. He strode to the sink and ran the cool water onto his hand, exhaling unevenly. Kenma backed away from him, white as a sheet and trembling. He knew he was going to burst into tears at any moment and he HAD to get out. Kuroo turned to him, each second his hand spent under the tap clearly easing both his pain and his anger, and said his name softly. And Kenma ran away. 

"Kenma..." It was too much for him to bear. He'd seen Kuroo surprised, seen Kuroo hurt, seen Kuroo pissed off, but he'd never seen him like that, and the moment his friend uttered his name stamped the proof into his head that that person who had scared him so much was indeed his Kuroo. He didn't want to believe that his best friend could have that side to him, even if it was just a one-off thing that he clearly regretted. However, the loud apologies that forced their way into his ears as he ran up the stairs meant nothing. He had to get away, had to bury himself in his blanket and play with his charm and sort out his head, and he couldn't be with Kuroo. He grabbed his bag and raced to the door, throwing it open and running through the garden, Kuroo only a few steps behind. 

"Kenma, I'm sorry! Please! Kenma!" Kuroo called after him, pausing at the front door and watching him go. Kenma had reached the corner of the street and glanced to the side to look at him as he ran past. Guilt rose up in his stomach as he saw Kuroo's urgency leave his body, his shoulders falling as he leant back against the door frame to catch his breath. A hiss of pain escaped him as his right hand instinctively curled around his left, the bright red burn decorating the latter visible even at that distance. Gritting his teeth, Kenma turned back to his path and ran like the wind, knowing nothing could stop the tears as they freed themselves and fell en masse. 

\- 

In approximately four and a half minutes, there was a knock at the front door. A short pause followed before Oikawa figured he'd have to let himself in, and tried the door. He wasn't particularly surprised to find it unlocked, even at this late hour, but other things seemed decidedly wrong. He locked the door behind him as he surveyed the damage in the entryway. He placed his trainers neatly in the row, noting the lack of Kenma's school shoes, then picked up the bag that had clearly been tossed to the side the moment its very emotional owner entered the house. He couldn't piece together exactly what had happened yet, but it was big, and he was going to be in for a long night. 

He climbed the stairs carefully, ensuring his steps were soft enough to not put Kenma on edge, but loud enough so that he was aware of his approach. He reached the door to Kenma's bedroom and knocked gently, eyeing the photo frame askew on the wall to the right of the door, evidence of a hasty slam. "Kenma, can I come in?" he called softly. No response. He had been asked to come over though, so he assumed he had already been granted consent to enter the room. "Okay Kenma, I'm coming in!" He warned, and opened the door. 

A small, tight, blanket burrito greeted him. He recognised the cat patterned snuggie immediately, but didn't allow himself the satisfaction of seeing it in use as he watched it shake, quiet strangled sounds emerging from within the folds. He sighed quietly. What on earth happened? "Kenma?" he said softly, closing the door behind him and making his way to the bed. "I'm going to sit on the bed too, if that's okay? You can tell me what happened if you want, but I won't touch you if you don't want me to. I've got your bag by the way." he added, placing it by the foot of the bed and sitting carefully. Normally he wasn't one to bother with boundaries and asking permission, but this obviously needed to be handled with care. He just hoped care would be enough. 

"I... hope I...didn't interrupt anything." A small voice spoke up from beneath the blanket. The effort in those words made Oikawa grimace. In truth he had been studying, strictly timetabled so that he could be free to spend tomorrow with Iwaizumi, but he had already let him know that that probably would not be happening. "No, not at all, I was just watching stuff." Oikawa reassured him. It was only a half lie, he had actually been watching youtube videos about his school subjects to try and move his studying forward, but Kenma was likely as observant as ever even in this state, so he kept his response as safe as possible. It didn't seem to matter though, Kenma still seemed to shake more beneath the covers. "Hey, it's okay. Do you want to talk about it? I can get you some tea if you want-" The last word hadn't even left his lips when Kenma let out what seemed like a shriek of pain and threw himself into Oikawa's arms, sobbing. Whoops, thought Oikawa, you certainly hit a nerve there, idiot. He held Kenma tightly, soothing his hand through his hair and pulling the snuggie back over the boy's shoulders, hushing him with gentle 'shh's. The repetitive motion of his hand seemed to calm Kenma, and his breathing finally seemed to even out. A few minutes later, Oikawa lifted the duvet and the boy obediently slipped under, still wrapped in the snuggie. Oikawa stroked his hair as he spoke softly. "Can I get you anything, Kenma?" The boys reddened eyes looked away as he curled up tighter. "Water." Oikawa smiled at him as he nodded and went downstairs to pour them both a glass. He returned and placed them on the bedside table before squatting to be on a level with Kenma, asking if he should just sit here, gesturing to where he sat previously. Kenma's eyes betrayed no emotion as he reached for Oikawa's hand, pulling him closer. Oikawa smiled again and joined him under the duvet, unease still eating at his stomach. His throat must still be too tight for him to speak properly, Oikawa thought, offering him the water. Kenma gratefully accepted and downed it in one go. "Sorry," he muttered, handing the glass back. "No worries!" Oikawa replied, snuggling down to join him. Kenma was still a tiny ball wrapped up in a blanket, but Oikawa did his best to hold him anyway. Kenma's arms reached out from within the snuggie to snake around him, and he pulled himself up so that his head rested on Oikawa's shoulder. He lay there with his eyes shut, apparently content, until another wave of emotion ravaged him. 

Face screwed up and buried in Oikawa's chest, hands clutching at his back and shaking randomly, Kenma clung to Oikawa. It hurt him, but he didn't complain. He only stroked Kenma's hair again and murmured a repetitive "shh..." He could feel Kenma's fingers tapping on his back, eventually working out that he was fidgeting with his watch charm, another gift from Oikawa. It eased him a little to know they helped, even if they had only ever been described to him as tasteless. "Kenma?" Oikawa spoke softly. "Do you want to talk about it?" The boy buried his face deeper into Oikawa's chest and shrugged. So that's how it was. Kenma wanted Oikawa to know what had happened but didn't want to tell him, which meant Oikawa would have to piece it together himself. He prepared himself for the tightrope walk where he would inevitably stumble. "Well, I think something happened with Kuroo, didn't it?" he asked gently, taking the first step out into the volatile land of piecing together what had happened. Kenma nodded against his chest, gripping him tighter. Oikawa continued to stroke his hair, hoping the action would soothe the fresh tears he knew were now dripping onto his shirt. "And you were at his house?" he said, fairly certain that this was the case. Kuroo frequently posted "movie night" photos on Fridays, that more often than not had Kenma's face in them - which operated on a binary of 100% done to sweet Jesus this ice cream is good. Another hesitant nod proved Oikawa's assumption to be true. Right, so that all made sense. Now he only had to piece together what had happened to result in this situation, and he knew he had to tread carefully to avoid further damage.  
So what could it be? He reviewed the clues that lay around him in his head. The open door, unremoved shoes and discarded bag all spoke of something that could make Kenma forget his common sense and daily routine. The shivering beneath the blankets told him Kenma was immensely emotional, most likely upset or afraid. The fact Oikawa was even here meant that it couldn't be discussed with Kuroo, and that was the most shocking of all. Could that mean Kuroo did something to frighten Kenma away from talking to him?  
"Did he...scare you?" Oikawa asked slowly. The grip around his body didn't loosen, and Kenma turned his face further from Oikawa's before grunting a "hm".  
"Hm". That didn't say much. Or at least, nothing specific. As far as he could tell, Kuroo had indeed scared him, but that wasn't the root of the problem. Then what- surely not... Oikawa couldn't even comprehend how what he was considering could happen, but what if...what if...  
"Kenma...did he...hurt you?" Oikawa asked, not believing the words that left his mouth. There was no way Kuroo would...no way... 

And yet Kenma gripped him tighter still and turned further away, trembling again. Oikawa lay paralysed with shock, how on earth could something like this have happened? He knew Kuroo, he knew he wasn't that sort, he knew he would never, ever hurt Kenma. So how?  
"...hng," A voice quietly attempted to be heard as the speaker wrapped himself tighter around Oikawa's body.  
"Hm?" Oikawa replied, having felt the word more than heard it, and too in shock to try and figure out what had been said.  
Kenma sniffed before trying again. "No."  
The word was like sandpaper and silk against his ears, a desperate sound painfully forced through a dry, tight throat, but the message it conveyed almost drowned Oikawa in relief. However, it was clear that it didn't ease Kenma. He was still tightly wound around Oikawa, clinging to him as though he thought he could merge with him if he tried hard enough. He shook randomly, and sobbed into his shirt. So then, Oikawa thought, it seemed impossible, but could it be...  
"Then..." Oikawa paused, praying that this was also the wrong answer, "did you hurt him?"  
His heart sank as a strangled sound escaped Kenma as he was rocked with waves of tears. Fuck. He was right on the money. Oikawa stroked Kenma's hair gently as the boy cried into him, trying to comprehend that Kenma had somehow managed to hurt Kuroo. It was either due to Kuroo scaring him or Kuroo scaring him as a result of that pain...right, close enough. Now how to deal with it.  
"Kenma... I'm sure it was an accident, right?"  
Kenma's fingers dug into Oikawa's back and he replied. "It's all my fault!"  
"Hey, hey, hush, it's not, it's not. It's okay." Oikawa whispered, the breaking of Kenma's voice killing him inside.  
"It is! I should have been more careful-"  
"Shhh..." Oikawa said gently. "Listen, it's okay. It's Kuroo." He pulled Kenma up to be on a level with his face. "He knows it was an accident. There's nothing to be afraid of."  
The boy's mouth opened to reply, but swiftly closed again, his eyes breaking their usual stare in an action very unlike him.  
"Hey," Oikawa whispered, bringing his arm up to stroke Kenma's hair again. "I can't work this one out. You'll have to tell me."  
It took the boy a few minutes to collect himself and attempt to speak. Oikawa passed him the water to try and ease the pain in his throat, and it seemed to work, the words coming out somewhat smoother than before.  
"He scared me,". Oikawa nodded, uninterrupting, stroking his hair rhythmically. "I... I hurt him and he shouted...he scared me." Oikawa's eyebrows raised of their own accord. Kuroo shouted? Really?  
"What happened?" he asked gently. Kenma failed to meet his eyes.  
"I didn't close the freezer." he said, fresh tears emerging from his eyes. Perplexed, Oikawa stared at him, waiting for him to continue. "I made tea, and didn't close the freezer, and he fell and got burned and he shouted at me!" Kenma's face fell into Oikawa's chest again as he relived the moment. Oikawa soothed him, glad to now have at least some idea of what had happened despite not really understanding what ingredient for tea could be found within a freezer.  
"It was an accident, Kenma. Kuroo knows that. I'm sure what he said was just because he got a fright, and he didn't mean it. You know he loves you, I'm sure he didn't mean to scare you."  
Kenma nodded against his chest. "I know that, I'm just being stupid but I hurt him, and..." he paused to try and regain his composure. "I've just never seen him like that."  
"You've never seen him shout like that?"  
Kenma shook his head slowly, blinking away tears. "It's... I just never knew he had that side to him."  
Oikawa pulled him closer. "If he really does have that side to him, I'm sure he never wanted you to see it. But I think this was a one off thing, just an accident. He only shouted because he was in a lot of pain. Did he say anything afterwards?"  
Kenma's gaze didn't leave Oikawa's chest as he replied. "He kept apologising for it. But that just made it worse because it meant it was actually him and he knew he shouted at me. I know it's silly but he's my best friend and he scared me..."  
"It's not silly, I think it would be very scary to have your best friend suddenly not act like your best friend at all! Especially when you know him better than anyone. But...that's the good thing about this. You do know Kuroo better than anyone else, so you can say with the most certainty that it was a one-off, just a result of shock. And he'll be aware of it now, his reaction probably surprised him too and I know he must regret it. I think the best thing to do just now is to go to bed and sleep out your stress, and let him apologise to you properly once you're ready to see him again. I can be there with you if you want." He added, not needing to hear Kenma say it to know he'd be more comfortable with company.  
"Hm." Kenma replied with a tiny nod. Oikawa smiled at him.  
"Would you like some more water before bed?" he asked, and made to leave the bed after another almost imperceptible nod. Kenma seemed rather reluctant to let him go though, so in a swift smooth motion Oikawa gently freed himself from the boys arms and wrapped them back into the snuggie. "I'll be back in a minute," he said quietly, softly kissing the top of Kenma's head before leaving the room. He pulled his phone from his back pocket as he made his way to the kitchen and texted a quick message to Kuroo, just to let him know that Kenma was okay, safe and well in his (ultra stylish) snuggie. He also informed him that he would be present when he next saw Kenma, but not to worry because he'd got it out of his system and would be fine after a good rest. After sending the text and pouring the water, he unlocked his phone again and sent another message concerning Kuroo's own wellbeing as an afterthought, cursing his unusual lack of tact. Shaking his head, he made his way back up the stairs, glasses in hand. Kuroo might not even notice, he thought, given how preoccupied with Kenma he'd be, but then his standoffish attitude towards Oikawa might take great offence. Sighing, he turned his phone off and entered Kenma's bedroom again, smiling at the snuggie burrito he'd be spending the night with, as he slipped back into bed with him and pulled the little ball close, both of them falling asleep within minutes.

**Author's Note:**

> I should probably mention that I have a couple of OiKen headcanons that are referenced in this story with little explanation, one of which being that Oikawa bought Kenma a really tacky cat-patterned snuggie that Kuroo insists must be removed from his sight whenever he visits Kenma, and also a watch with a similarly tacky cat design on the face but with a little charm attached to it. The charm is in the shape of a cat (obviously) but it's actually a very discreet twistable fidget toy, and Kenma took to wearing it everyday so he could fiddle with it in situations where his games console was prohibited so he didn't have to resort to standing incredibly awkwardly and pulling at his clothes. Basically I'm trash for this pairing and Oikawa lowkey caring for Kenma.


End file.
